I’m pretty sure that’s what happened but my memory kinds sucks soo
the Knights of Malta are still around, and the whole airforce thing with them is TOTALLY crazy.
That whole thread is amazing!!! read it.
Actually I should post it here.
Summary
Let’s talk about the point after WW2 where the Knights Hospitaller, of medieval crusading fame, ‘accidentally’ became a major European air power. I shi**eth ye not.
So, if I asked you to imagine the Knights Hospitaller you probably picture:
- Angry Christians on armoured horses
- Them being wiped out long ago like the Templars.
- Some Dan Brown bull
And you would be (mostly) wrong about all three. Which is sort of how this happened.
From the beginning (1113 or so), the Hospitallers were never quite as committed to the angry, horsey thing as the Templars. They had always (ostensibly) been more about protecting pilgrims and healthcare.
They also quite liked boats. Which were useful for both.
Over the next 150 years (or so), as the Christian grip on the Holy Lands waned, both military orders got more involved in their other hobbies - banking for the Templars, mucking around in boats for the Hospitaller.
This proved to be a surprisingly wise decision on the Hospitaller part. By 1290ish, both Orders were homeless and weakened.
As the Templars fatally discovered, being weak AND having the King of France owe you money is a bad combo.
Being a useful NAVY, however, wins you friends.
And this is why your first vision of the Hospitallers is wrong. Because they spent the next 500 YEARS, backed by France and Spain, as one of the most powerful naval forces in the Mediterranean, blocking efforts by the Ottomans to expand westwards by sea.
To give you an idea of the trouble they caused: in 1480 Mehmet II sent 70,000 men (against the Knights 4000) to try and boot them out of Rhodes. He failed.
Suleiman the Magnificent FINALLY managed it in 1522 with 200,000 men. But even he had to agree to let the survivors leave.
The surviving Hospitallers hopped on their ships (again) and sailed away. After some vigorous lobbying, in 1530 the King of Spain agreed to rent them Malta, in return for a single maltese falcon every year.
Because that’s how good rents were pre-housing crisis in Europe.
The Knights turned Malta into ANOTHER fortified island. For the next 200 years ‘the Pope’s own navy’ waged a war of piracy, slavery and (occasionally) pitched sea battles against the Ottomans.
From Malta, they blocked Ottoman strategic access to the western med. A point that was not lost on the Ottomans, who sent 40,000 men to try and take the island in 1565 - the ‘Great Siege of Malta’.
The Knights, fighting almost to the last man, held out and won.
Now the important thing here is the CONTINUED EXISTENCE AS A SOVEREIGN STATE of the Knights Hospitaller. They held Malta right up until 1798, when Napoleon finally managed to boot them out on his way to Egypt.
(Partly because the French contingent of the Knights swapped sides)
The British turned up about three months later and the French were sent packing, but, well, It was the British so:
THE KNIGHTS: Can we have our strategically important island back please?
THE BRITISH: What island?
THE KNIGHT: That island
THE BRITISH: Nope. Can’t see an island
After the Napoleonic wars no one really wanted to bring up the whole Malta thing with the British (the Putin’s Russia of the era) so the European powers fudged it. They said the Knights were still a sovereign state and they tried to sort them out with a new country. But never did
The Russian Emperor let them hang out in St Petersburg for a while, but that was awkward (Catholicism vs Orthodox). Then the Swedes were persuaded to offer them Gotland.
But every offer was conditional on the Knights dropping their claim to Malta. Which they REFUSED to do.
It’s the 1900s. The Knights are still a stateless state complaining about Malta. What that means legally is a can of worms NO ONE wants to open in international law but they’ve also rediscovered their original mission (healthcare) so everyone kinda ignores them
The Knights become a pseudo-Red Cross organisation. In WW1 they run ambulance trains and have medical battalions, loosely affiliated with the Italian army (still do). In WW2 they do it too.
Italy surrenders. The allies move on then…
Oh dear.
Who wrote this peace deal again?
It turns out the Treaty of Peace with Italy should go FIRMLY into the category of ‘things that seemed a good idea at the time’.
This is because it presupposes that relations between the west and the Soviets will be good, and so limits Italy’s MILITARY.
This is a problem.
Because as the early Cold War ramps up, the US needs to build up its Euro allies ASAP.
But the treaty limits the Italians to 400 airframes, and bans them from owning ANYTHING that might be a bomber.
This can be changed, but not QUICKLY.
Then someone remembers about the Knights
The Knights might not have any GEOGRAPHY, but because everyone avoided dealing with the tricky international law problem it can be argued - with a straight face - that they are still TECHNICALLY A EUROPEAN SOVEREIGN STATE.
And they’re not bound by the WW2 peace treaty.
Italy (with US/UK/French blessing) approaches the Knights and explains the problem.
The Knights reasonably point out that they’re not in the business of fighting wars anymore, but anything that could be called a SUPPORT aircraft is another matter.
So, in the aftermath of WW2, this is the ballet that happens:
The Italians transfer all of their support and training aircraft to the Knights.
This then frees up the ‘cap room’ to allow the US to boost Italy’s warfighting ability WITHOUT breaking the WW2 peace treaty.
This is why, in the late forties/fifties, a good chunk of the ‘Italian’ air force is flying with a Maltese Cross Roundel.
Because they were not TECHNICALLY Italian. They were the air force of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
And that’s how the Knights Hospitaller ended up becoming a major air power.
Eventually the treaties were reworked, and everything was quietly transferred back. I suspect it’s a reason why the sovereign status of the Knights remains unchallenged still today though.
And that’s why today, even thought they are now fully committed to the Red-Cross-esque stuff, they can still issue passports, are a permanent observer at the UN, have a currency…
…,and even have a tiny bit of Malta back.
TL;DR : MADNESS, utterly madness.
2 Likes
wouldn’t it be the moon suing the red crescent i mean the moon has the prior art if you mean like a crescent blood moon or something
In reply to RobotWizard
i would have though the knight of Malta would be an entirely different order then the knight Templar
Yes, but their history is TOTALLY wack… I posted it fully up there…
You can ignore it if you like, but it is a DAMN good read.
How strict is the red cross thing? The copyright of the symbol is just over a red +, or a red + over a white background?
Also, Bap cross is a little crooked, like this, on a light blue background.
I didn’t even though of the red cross when watching health packs or Bap skin up until now.
wow that was actually kind of an amazing read lol
1 Like
I know right? it is crazy as hell.
This is the part which made me laugh the most out of it though 
1 Like
here is the thing…
if the red cross wanted to sue, they would have done it already
its been over 1 year
2 Likes
I’m gonna save this so I can read it later.
1 Like
it’s more the copyright its also backed up by the geneva convention
So its doubly protected…
you dont wanan screw with the red cross… and really you dont wanna screw with them because its a bad idea to train people to shoot at people with any kind of red cross… that may impact actual soldier.
now if they had a pure non-combattant in a game i could actually see that as a positive… at least if there was a significant penalty for accidentally hitting one…
1 Like
Read the twitter thread rather than this. it is layed out better
It is beautiful. Seriously Beautiful.
Yeah I’ll definitely take a look at it.
1 Like
I thought it was a troll post, until I read the person who made it. I guess you could say I’m a bit “confusiarched”
stock laugh track
1 Like
the blue background clears blizzard of any charges, as the red cross protected under teh Geneva Convention is a red cross on a white background
1 Like
The same reason the Medic symbol for TF2 has remained the same since 2007
It’s just different enough, that it’s not the same
1 Like
yeah we already came to the conclusion but i still think that less then ideal…
The point is people reaction should not be confused in case they are ever in a state of war and have a split second reaction that goes the wrong way…
Better to be super protective and make sure the gut reaction is to freeze up and not shoot… hell i think the red cross should be in games but you get horribly punished if you hit one…
even the stray though of pointing a gun at a red cross should make people curl up into a fetal position and just groan in distress… it should be that level of reaction…
1 Like
…i aint touching that with a 20 foot pole
I dont see why anyone cares…
its a video game
1 Like
So it works! That is the right response to a red cross!!!
Now, lets get you into the army…
1 Like
oh crap you’re right I didn’t even know